United Nations
The United Nations '''(often abbreviated as '''UN) is an international orginisation comprising of 193 member states and their respective territories. The main goal of the United Nations is to prevent conflict between or among nations, as well as oversee each member state's progression in international law, security, economic, and social rights. Officially founded in 1945 following the close of World War II, the United Nations supplanted the short-lived but ultimately failed League of Nations, which had been in existance since 1919. Within the United Nations are several subsidiary organisations and assemblies that help to carry out the United Nations's goals. The most notable of these organs is the General Assembly, the only branch of the United Nations to have representation from all 193 member states. The current Secretary-General incumbent of the United Nations, who acts as the de facto leader and spokesperson, is Ban Ki-moon '''of South Korea. History The League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, was first mentioned in Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Point Plan" at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, officially ending the First World War. Though proposed by a US president, the United States of America never joined the League of Nations, after it ultimately was formed. At its greatest extent, the League of Nations consisted of 58 member states (1934-35), with its capital in Geneva, Switzerland. Lacking in structure, global representation, and collective security, the League of Nations began to decline in the later part of the 1930s. Finally, after a failed attempt to prevent World War II from occuring, the League of Nations was disbanded. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, along with Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, met at the Tehran Conference in what would be the first of three major summits attended by the three world leaders. In Tehran, the three discussed possible solutions to end the Second World War and create a prevention from there being a third. It was then that the United Nations was proposed. With a structure more organised than that of the League of Nations, the proposed United Nations was destined to be more effective than its predecessor. Many bodies of the League of Nations, such as the International Labour Organisation, was adopted in the United Nations and continued to function. Finally, on 25 April 1945, with the Second World War coming to a close, the UN Conferences on International Organisation began in San Francisco, United States. As a result, the United Nations Charter was drafted and ultimately put into effect on 24 October of the same year. The first five original members to ratify the charter included the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, and the Republic of China. Organisation The United Nations is organised into five major branches, each with specific duties and functions: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. The United Nations's major headquarters is located on international territory in New York City, United States. Other offices and institutions are located in Vienna, The Hague, Geneva, and Nairobi. Minor agencies are located throughout the world. During intergovernmental meetings and in the writing of formal documents, six official languages are used by the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish. In writing, the traditional British usage of English is used (as opposed to American usage), and Simplified Chinese characters are used in favour over Traditional Chinese. The General Assembly The UN '''General Assembly (UNGA) is the most notable and main deliberative organ of the United Nations. It is the only body that holds representation from all 193 member states, and is directed under a single president voted upon by the members. The General Assembly meets annually in New York City, during a two week period. The main agenda of the General Assembly ranges from electing new members to join the UN, to adopting the budget, to controlling what nations are in the Security Council, to deciding what judges should lead the International Court of Justice. Through the General Assembly, new member states can be inducted in the United Nations, while others can be suspended or expelled for whatever reason. All voting processes require a two-thirds majority among the member states in order to be passed. Each nation gets one vote (for a total of 193 votes). The current president of the General Assembly is Vuk Jeremić '''of Serbia, and the current deputy president is '''Ertuğrul Apakan '''of Turkey. Both the president and deputy president serve for a term of one year. The Security Council The '''Security Council (UNSC) is one of the most critical branches of the UN, holding special powers that enable them to make binding decisions that member nations have agreed to carry out. Currently, there are fifteen nations in the Security Council; five nations - United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China - are permanent members, while the remaining ten - South Korea, Pakistan, Australia, Argentina, Rwanda, Togo, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Morocco, and Guatemala - are non-permanent. The permanent members hold special vetoing powers over substantive decisions. The Security Council is responsible for maintaining international peace and security, and can execute special actions to do so. It is the only branch of the UN that can establish sanctions, create peacekeeping organisations, and authorise military action. As stated, it is one of the most powerful organs of the UN, in that it may adopt compulsory resolutions, simply than 'recommend'. The current president of the Security Council is Kodjo Menan '''of Togo. The president serves for a term of only one month, when a new one is selected alphabetically by nation's name. The Economic and Social Council As the name suggests, the '''Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) oversees global progress in terms of economies and societies. This includes raising the general standard of living, solving economic, social, and health problems, promoting and monitoring human rights, establishing a healthy education and culture, and supplying huminitarian aid. On an economic scale, the Council works closely with officials heading key international financial organisations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Council meets annually for a four week period, usually in July. At any given time, the Economic and Social Council may hold a maximum of 54 member states, all of which are selected by the UN General Assembly. Each bloc, or geographical region of the world, can have so many seats in the Council. 11 seats are allocated to Asian states, 14 to African states, 10 to Latin American or Caribbean states, 6 to Eastern European states, and 13 to Western European or other states. Each member state may remain in the Economic and Social Council for an overlapping three-year term, before their membership must be renewed by the General Assembly. The current president of the Economic and Social Council is Néstor Osorio Londoño of Colombia. The president is elected among the 54 members of the Council, and serves for a term of one year. The Secretariat The Secretariat is the primary administrative entity of the United Nations. Roughly put, the Secretariat is a mediator among the United Nations, responsible for administering policies, programs, and organisations laid down by the UN as a whole. It is responsible for publishing various documents and treaties, and serves as the "voice" of the UN. The Secretariat tends to the needs of the other UN branches, as well as conducts servies among member states to capture economic and social trends. Operating under the Secretariat are a series of offices and departments, most notably the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), Department of Political Affairs (DPA), and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO) among others. Also notable about the Secretariat branch is that its elected leader (voted on by the General Assembly) also acts as the Secretary-General of the entire United Nations. The Secretary-General is responsible for settling international disputes, administering peacekeeping organisations, working closely with the Security Council, and consulting with member governments concerning various initiatives. There is no set number of member states within the Secretariat, and only individual representatives from a wide range of member states are selected to the Secretary-General's staff, rather than the member state as a whole. The current Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the Secretariat branch is Ban Ki-moon '''of South Korea. The Secretary-General serves for a term of five years, with indefinite renewablity. The International Court of Justice The '''International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the primary judicial chamber of the United Nations. Their main duty is to provide advisory opinions among the member states regarding law, as well as to settle international legal matters. Any universal juric situations are immediately put in the hands of the Court of Justice, and executed by their matters. Throughout its existence the Court of Justice has dealt with very few international legal cases. However, in recent years, more willingness to consult and use the Court has occured, especially among developing nations. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is the Court's primary constitution, and clearly outlines all regulations of the ICJ. While all member states of the United Nations are subject to the ICJ's services, only a handful have representation within the Court. 15 judges, voted upon by the General Assembly, are selected to serve a term of nine years each, with five judges being selected every three years, to ensure continuity. Judges are nominated for voting from a wide range of nationalities, and no two judges of the same nationality may serve simultaneously. All five permanent members of the Security Council always have a judge sitting on the Court. Of the fifteen judges, one is selected as president, who resides over the Court as a whole, and one is selected as a vice-president. The current president of the ICJ is 'Peter Tomka '''of Slovakia, and the current vice-president is '''Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor '''of Mexico. Both the president and vice-president serve terms of nine years. Membership Current Members ''Main article: Countries of the United Nations '' Currently, the United Nations is made up of 193 countries around the world, the newest member to join being South Sudan, which joined on July 14, 2011. There are presently 43 members from Europe, 57 from Africa, 43 from Asia, 14 from Oceania, 23 from North America (including Latin America and the Caribbean), and 12 from South America. Non-Members and Disputed Regions The Holy See (Vatican City) is the only state in the world with country status that is not a member of the United Nations. Rather, it is labelled as an "observer", and is granted the rights to attend General Assembly meetings, take part in discussions, sponsor resolutions, and take part in procedural votes. However, observers are restricted from voting on resolutions. The State of Palestine, whilst not holding official country status, is also an observer in the General Assembly. Palestine is a matter of dispute and only 132 of the 193 members of the UN recognise it as an independent sovereignty. Similarily, the Republic of China (Taiwan) is recognised as a country by only twenty-four members of the UN, and, despite continuous applications to join the UN as a non-member observing state, has been declined. Requirements for Membership The requirements for membership, as outlined in Chapter 2, Article 4 of the United Nations Charter, is as follows: ''"Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." Generally, a state should be recognised by a vast majority of existing UN members as a legitimate nation in order to achieve membership. Nations may be suspended or even expelled for violating any rules laid down by the UN, such as declaring unlawful war on another member or crimes against humanity. Objectives The United Nations and the members within are dedicated to an agenda of goals. These goals are designed to promote world peace, economic stability, and social rights among other things. Peacekeeping The United Nations's primary purpose upon its foundation in 1945 was to prohibit the possibilities of a third world war. In order to achieve this, the UN strives to promote and maintain a balance of peace in the world. Member nations are restricted from declaring war on one another. Even still, civil unrest within countries keeps the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO, the comittee in charge of peacekeeping operations) busy. In recent years, the DPKO has set up peacekeeping missions in the most troubled parts of the world: countries that are subject to heavy civil unrest and dispute, such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Western Sahara, the Sudan, Liberia, Kashmir, East Timor, Kosovo, and Haiti. The DPKO's primary goal is to counter civil unrest and dispute in such places, by means of bringing aid to victims, assisting the nation's central government, or enriching a nation's military by means of funds. Another key principle of the UN's peacekeeping goal is disarmament. Originally included in the initial UN Charter, the UN mandate on disarmament limits the amount of arms any nation may be in possession of. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) restricts any nation, with some exceptions, from ever possessing nuclear weaponary, and only limits the use of nuclear material for enery purposes. These exceptions include the five permanent members of the Security Council - United Kingdom, Russia, United States, People's Republic of China, and France - as well as four additional nations who did not sign the NPT: India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. Category:United Nations